Miro Kovac, Croatia’s minster of foreign and European affairs,
described the diplomatic protest as “a cheap attempt at destabilizing
Croatia at a sensitive time.”“That's a recipe from the 1990s,” he continued. “The vocabulary
unfortunately recalls the time of Slobodan Milosevic and the Greater
Serbia aggression.”Kovac added, “I have to say that these assessments regarding Cardinal
Stepinac are fictitious and unacceptable. This is meddling in Croatia’s
interior affairs.”The Serbian foreign minister later said that Croatia’s formal written
response was so insulting that Serbia’s ambassador in Croatia refused
to accept it.

Pope John Paul II elevated Bishop Stepinac to Blessed, so I am guessing it's legit. Stepinac was strongly anti-communist and particualrly harsh with the Freemasons, so hurray for him. I tried to understand all the ins and outs of what was going on leading up to his trial and all I took away from it was this: Yugoslavia was bad idea.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

The Sistine Chapel Choir is a winner of the 2016 Echo Klassik Prize, Germany’s highest classical music award.The prize, which will be awarded in Berlin in October, is given in 57
categories. The choir will receive the “choral recording of the year”
award for Cantate Domino, which was recorded in the Sistine Chapel and produced by Deutsche Grammophon.

Celebrating Mass for the repose of the soul of Father Jacques Hamel,
an Australian archbishop said that the French priest was killed "in odium fidei-- that is, in hatred of the faith."Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney reminded his congregation that he
was using the formula that describes the death of a martyr. He went on
to say that the killing was part of "a targeted attack on our Christian
faith." Noting that the Islamic terrorists had conducted a ritual
sacrifice on the altar and delivered a mock homily, the archbishop
concluded: "So their act was not just murder but also sacrilege,
desecration, blasphemy."

Francis spoke to reporters on the papal plane en route from Rome to Poland, where he began a five-day visit Wednesday.

Asked about the slaying of an 85-year-old priest in a Normandy church on
Tuesday, Francis replied: "the real word is war...yes, it's war. This
holy priest died at the very moment he was offering a prayer for all the
church."

He went on: "I only want to clarify, when I speak of war, I am really
speaking of war ... a war of interests, for money, resources. ... I am
not speaking of a war of religions, religions don't want war. The others
want war."

Phew! I thought we were in a war against a RELIGION (loosely defined)! Good to see we are not!

Oh...wait...

One of the terrorists had a handgun and began to shout “Allah
Akbar” and the other had a fake bomb with a timer… They then gave a
“sermon in Arabic” at the altar.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

1) He was taught by Jesuits.2) Kaine says he separates the personal from the political.

Kaine is personally against abortion and the death penalty and has
sometimes spoken against same-sex marriage and gay adoption, all of
which aligns with Catholic teaching. But he has taken different stances
in his political life. He has upheld Roe v. Wade and told Chuck Todd of “Meet the Press”: “I
have taken the position, which is quite common among Catholics — I have
got a personal feeling about abortion, but the right rule for
government is to let women make their own decisions.”3) He favors allowing women to be priests. 4) He is a fan of Pope Francis' "Laudato Si". 5)He speaks openly about "his" faith.

“Democratic
VP choice, Tim Kaine, has been widely identified as a Roman Catholic,”
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island wrote on Facebook.
“It is also reported that he publicly supports ‘freedom of choice’ for
abortion, same-sex marriage, gay adoptions, and the ordination of women
as priests. All of these positions are clearly contrary to
well-established Catholic teachings; all of them have been opposed by
Pope Francis as well.”

“Senator
Kaine has said, ‘My faith is central to everything I do,’” Tobin
continued. “But apparently, and unfortunately, his faith isn’t central
to his public, political life.”

Kaine has described himself as a “traditional” Catholic
who believes the Church’s teaching that abortion is morally wrong, but
one who believes “the right rule for government is to let women make
their own decisions.”

“We don’t need to make people’s reproductive decisions for them,” he has said.

Father Petri

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 25, 2016 (LifeSiteNews)
— A Catholic priest asked that pro-abortion Vice Presidential nominee
Tim Kaine “do us both a favor” and not show up in his Communion line.“I take Canon 915 seriously. It'd be embarrassing for you & for
me,” tweeted Dominican Father Thomas Petri, the vice president and
academic dean of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at
the Dominican House of Studies.Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law instructs that those “persevering
in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

Pope Francis spoke to the diplomatic corps and amongst other things, said, "Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."

Meanwhile...

SAINT-ETIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France -- A deadly hostage-taking at a
Catholic church in Normandy, in which a priest was killed and another
person seriously wounded, was a terror attack committed in the name of
ISIS, French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday.Speaking in the northern French town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray,
where two men took five people hostage during morning Mass, Hollande
said the attack was a "cowardly assassination" carried out by "by two
terrorists in the name of Daesh" -- another name for ISIS.In the latest Islamist atrocity to roil France, an 84-year-old
Catholic priest, the Rev. Jacques Hamel, was killed when two men stormed
the church in the northern region of Normandy, Dominique Lebrun, the
Archbishop of Rouen, said in a statement posted on the diocese website.Besides the slain priest, two nuns and two churchgoers had been taken hostage, BFMTV reported.One of the hostages was seriously wounded and is "between life and
death," French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said.

So warriors for the "Religion of Peace" have bravely slaughtered an 84-year-old priest...while he was celebrating Mass? Makes me glad there is a hell.

Monday, July 25, 2016

A new survey by the Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll shows that a
strong majority of Americans support conscience protection for medical
professionals.
As Congress considers the Conscience Protection Act, by nearly 20
points (56 percent to 37 percent), Americans say that medical
professionals and organizations should be able to opt out of abortion
procedures and coverage. Among registered voters, the results are 57
percent to 36 percent.

“Consistent with our First Amendment guarantees, the American people
believe that no person or organization should be compelled to help
perform or cover abortion,” said Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson.
“It is important that our elected officials continue to protect these
important rights, and no American ever be forced to be involved in
abortion against their conscience or religious beliefs.”The survey of 1,009 adults was conducted July 5-12, 2016, by the
Marist Institute for Public Opinion and sponsored by the Knights of
Columbus. Adults 18 years of age and older residing in the continental
United States were interviewed on either landline or mobile phones in
English using live interviewers. Results for adults are statistically
significant within ±3.1 percentage points. The error margin increases
for cross-tabulations.

Meanwhile....the Democrats put the following plan in their platform:

“We will continue to oppose — and seek to overturn — federal and
state laws and policies that impede a woman’s access to abortion,
including by repealing the Hyde Amendment,” the platform draft says.Since
the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade creating a constitutional right to
abortion, the Hyde Amendment has enjoyed broad bipartisan support, as it
is attached to annual federal spending bills."

The Galilean origin of St. James in some degree explains the energy of temper and the vehemence of character which earned for him and St. John the name of Boanerges, "sons of thunder".

Today's Gospel:

MAT 20 20:28The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sonsand did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.He said to her,“What do you wish?”She answered him,“Command that these two sons of mine sit,one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.”Jesus said in reply,“You do not know what you are asking.Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”

So Salome said, "OK. Can you at least give James a pension"?

James is the patron saint of milliners, pharmacists, druggists, pilgrims and sock makers.

1/ a person who labors under some form of amentia or
other psychic illness due to which, after experts have been consulted, he is
judged unqualified to fulfill the ministry properly;

2/ a person who has committed the delict of
apostasy, heresy, or schism;

3/ a person who has attempted marriage, even only
civilly, while either impeded personally from entering marriage by a
matrimonial bond, sacred orders, or a public perpetual vow of chastity, or with
a woman bound by a valid marriage or restricted by the same type of vow;

4/ a person who has committed voluntary homicide or
procured a completed abortion and all those who positively cooperated in
either;

5/ a person who has mutilated himself or another
gravely and maliciously or who has attempted suicide;

6/ a person who has placed an act of orders reserved
to those in the order of episcopate or presbyterate while either lacking that
order or prohibited from its exercise by some declared or imposed canonical
penalty.

I guess the moral of the story is if you make a public vow of chastity, don't even try becoming a priest.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

A little late...but I just found out about it. St. Fermin is the patron of the Navarre region of Spain. The capital of Navarre is Pamplona. And what happens every year during the celebration of St. Fermin? The San Fermin Festival! Which features....

Philandro Castle was shot by a St. Paul, Minnesota cop. That much is certain. The why part has not been answered....although it didn't stop protestors from raging:

The estimated $1 million St. Paul protest price tag covers July 7
through this past Sunday, most of it for police personnel. About
$750,000 of the costs came July 8-11, with $650,000 of it used by the
police department, according to the mayor’s office.Protesters shut down Interstate 94 in St. Paul on the night of July
9, and the police chief and Coleman said it turned into a riot when
people began throwing objects at officers. Police said 21 officers
sustained injuries, which were mostly minor. On July 9 and 10, 102
people were arrested, either on the interstate or on Grand Avenue.

But that's not the point. I saw this photo of the funeral. I have been to the Cathedral of St. Paul...it's CATHOLIC. It is the "mother church" of the St. Paul - Minneapolis Archdiocese.

I guess I was surprised that Philandro and his family were Catholics. But there was a reason the funeral was at the Cathedral. From the Cathedral's website:The funeral for Philando Castile will be held at the Cathedral of Saint Paul on Thursday, July 14 at 12:00 p.m.The request for the Cathedral came directly from Valerie Castile,
Philando’s mother, who wishes the funeral service to be ecumenical and
an opportunity for “people to come together in a new way,” praying for
peace and reconciliation.The Catholic Church believes that burying the dead is a Corporal Work
of Mercy, and of particular importance in this Jubilee Year of Mercy,
as declared by Pope Francis.Cathedral Rector, Rev. John Ubel, will participate by leading the
liturgical prayers and will be joined by Rev. Steve Daniels, Sr., pastor
of nearby Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, who will deliver a eulogy.
A visiting choir will assist in the liturgy.The texts for the liturgy will have a particular focus on the
preservation of peace, justice, and reconciliation among all people, and
will incorporate elements from the Church’s Funeral Liturgy outside of
Mass, because Philando Castile was from a non-Catholic Christian
tradition.The century old Cathedral of Saint Paul is a world-class treasure for
the community, a centerpiece of the historic neighborhood bearing its
name, and a home not only for a parish community, but a spiritual home
for all.

Monday, July 18, 2016

In a front-page column that appeared in L’Osservatore Romano
following the terrorist attack in Nice, a Muslim journalist said that a
greater understanding of Islam is necessary to counter the jihadist
threat.Zouhir Louassini, who works for Italy’s state-owned 24-hour news
channel, said that “terrorism will not be stopped with headlines of
seven columns that insult and offend an entire religion,” for such
headlines play into the jihadists’ hands.The Mein Kampf of the jihadists, he said, is “The Management
of Savagery,” a work that views moderate Muslims with the greatest
contempt. Louassini said that the work outlines a strategy in which
terrorist attacks foster hatred for Islam, creating conditions in which
social cohesion between non-Muslims and Muslims becomes difficult, and
moderate Muslims are more likely to become radicalized.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Pope Francis spoke to the diplomatic corps and amongst other things, said, "Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."

Meanwhile...

ISIS is celebrating the apparent terrorist attack in Nice, France, on
Thursday as retaliation for the death of Abu Omar al-Shishani—the
terror group’s so-called “minister of war”—who was killed earlier this
year by coalition forces while fighting in Iraq.More than 70 people were killed and dozens more were injured when a
truck barreled through a large crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day,
a French holiday commemorating the storming of the famous Parisian
fortress in 1789, an important milestone in the French Revolution. The
driver of the truck reportedly was killed by French authorities.

— همي رضى ربي286 #منبج (@abomusaab_286) July 14, 2016(Translation: “Oh France, you and the all Europe will never be
secure until we will live secure on every inch in the land of the
Caliphate.”)

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Can. 872 In so far as possible, a person being baptized is to be assigned a sponsor. In
the case of an adult baptism, the sponsor's role is to assist the person in Christian
initiation. In the case of an infant baptism, the role is together with the parents to
present the child for baptism, and to help it to live a Christian life befitting the
baptized and faithfully to fulfill the duties inherent in baptism.

Can. 873 One sponsor, male or female, is sufficient; but there may be two, one of each
sex.

Just not this guy

Can. 874 §1 To be admitted to undertake the office of sponsor, a person must:

1° be appointed by the candidate for baptism, or by the parents or whoever stands in
their place, or failing these, by the parish priest or the minister; to be appointed the
person must be suitable for this role and have the intention of fulfilling it;

2° be not less than sixteen years of age, unless a different age has been stipulated
by the diocesan Bishop, or unless the parish priest or the minister considers that there
is a just reason for an exception to be made;

3° be a catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist, and
who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken;

4° not labor under a canonical penalty, whether imposed or declared;

5° not be either the father or the mother of the person to be baptized.

§2 A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community may be
admitted only in company with a catholic sponsor, and then simply as a witness to the
baptism.

The Pew poll found that Clinton held a 56-39% advantage over Donald
Trump among Catholic voters. That 17% margin was markedly different from
the results of a similar poll in the last presidential race, when
then-Senator Barack Obama was virtually even with Mitt Romney among
Catholic voters in June 2012.

However, Clinton's margin among Catholic voters was entirely
attributable to a huge (77-16%) advantage among Hispanic Catholics (thanks, amigos!).
Among white Catholics, Trump had a slight (50-46) edge.Among all voters surveyed, Pew found that Clinton had a 51-42% lead.
Trump enjoyed his best results among white Evangelical voters, who gave
him a massive 78-17% advantage; Clinton did best with black Protestants,
who broke even more dramatically (89-8%) in her favor.Among voters who attend church services weekly, Pew found that Trump
had a slight advantage: 49- 45%. But among Catholics who attend Mass
weekly, Clinton led by 57-38%.When asked which questions they considered most important in the
presidential campaign, Catholics provided answers that did not differ
significantly from the overall national sample.

Hard to pick the most Christian person running, but relatively easy to pick the most pro-abortionist running.

The history of “Mass with the priest’s back facing the people” has been a
long and amusing one. Let it be said from the beginning that no priest
ever thought that he was celebrating Mass with his back to the people.
No priest of any age or place ever said to himself: “Now that I am about
to consecrate the Host, I will turn my back to the people.” He and
everyone were turning to the Lord. That whole imagery of “back to the
people” was dreamed up to promote a theological cause. It wanted the
Mass to be understood not what it is, a sacrifice, but a friendly meal.
The priest became a host or a “president,” as he is often called. He is a
“presider,” awful term. Even worse is it when the priest is seen to be a
“master of ceremonies” or an actor, greeting and joshing everyone.

As Father Z says, " There are a few notable exceptions, but there is a general rule that
Jesuits don’t have much of a grasp or sense of liturgy. Perhaps you
know the old chestnut: “As lost as a Jesuit in Holy Week”, to describe
someone who doesn’t have a clue.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

The enthusiastic embrace of legalized euthanasia by the Canadian
medical establishment has been shocking and appalling.
Now, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario–the official
provincial medical association–has betrayed doctors who have a
conscientious objection to committing euthanasia.
To keep from suffering professional discipline, all Ontario doctors will
have to be complicit in homicide. From the ethics opinion:
Where a physician declines to provide medical assistance in dying
for reasons of conscience or religion, the physician must not abandon
the patient. An effective referral must be provided.
An effective referral means a referral made in good faith, to a
non-objecting, available, and accessible physician, nurse practitioner
or agency. The referral must be made in a timely manner to allow the
patient to access medical assistance in dying…
The federal legislation does not compel physicians to provide or
assist in providing medical assistance in dying. For clarity, the
College does not consider providing the patient with an ‘effective
referral’ as ‘assisting’ in providing medical assistance in dying.
In other words, all doctors must become death doctor pimps.

...but then I saw who educated him.Philly mayor Jim Kenney thinks Pope Francis is ‘freaking awesome’ —
but disagrees with his positions on marriage, abortion, and the
Eucharist.
Last week, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney accused Philadelphia archbishop
Charles Chaput of being “not Christian” after the local Catholic
archdiocese released guidelines reiterating longstanding Catholic
teaching on divorce and re-marriage.

The diocesan document — “Pastoral Guidelines for Implementing Amoris Laetitia” — was approved by Chaput in order to contextualize
parts of Pope Francis’s recent apostolic exhortation. Among the
guidelines offered was one stating that divorced, civilly remarried, and
cohabiting couples must “refrain from sexual intimacy,” as well as
“sacramentally confess all serious sins of which he or she is aware,
with a firm purpose to change, before receiving the Eucharist.”
In response to someone’s Twitter question about the guidelines, Kenney
stated: “Jesus gave us gift of Holy Communion because he so loved us.
All of us. Chaput’s actions are not Christian.”
Kenney’s response might make sense for someone with a superficial
understanding of Christianity and, in particular, Catholic teaching. But
Kenney was raised in a large Irish-Catholic family, and he has touted
his Jesuit education at Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle
University.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Reflecting on the bicentennial of Argentina’s independence from Spain, Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the poor and marginalized
and encouraged his fellow Argentines “to overcome this 'throwaway
culture' that is imposed upon us globally.”The Pope’s comments were made in a letter that was addressed to the
president of the nation’s episcopal conference and released by the
Vatican on July 9.“I am convinced that our Motherland needs to bring alive the prophecy
of Joel,” the Pope said reference to the Old Testament book’s second
chapter. “Only if our grandparents dare to dream and our young people
dare to prophesy great things, can the Motherland be free.”

Luckily for Venezuelans, they have managed to overcome the "throwaway culture" by not having anything to throw away.

Speaking to a large crowd at his weekly Wednesday Audience in St.
Peter’s Square, the Pope said that facing Mecca during Mass could be the
ecumenical boost the Church and the east need “in these dark times.”

“It is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common
orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same
direction, toward Mecca, the holiest site in all of Islam. This will
accomplish two things…first, it will be as a sign of unity between east
and west. Second, when we kneel at Mass, we will not only be kneeling
for Christ’s forgiveness, but kneeling to those we harmed during the
Crusades, which was our fault. They will, thereby, act in pseudo persona
Christi as we humbly ask for God’s forgiveness.”

Francis went on to ask all priests to “implement this practice
wherever possible, unless of course you’re already located somewhere in
the east, in which case, ad populum will be permissible.”After close to a ten second paused, Francis smiled, saying
“Man…Sarah’s so smart, right? How does he come up with this stuff? He’d
make such a great pope. He’s nothing like the Burke idiot I got rid of.”

In a July 8 audience with the prefect of the Congregation for the
Causes of Saints, Pope Francis approved the publication of decrees that
advance nine beatification causes.In approving a decree on a miracle attributed to the intercession of
Ven. Louis Ormières (1809-90), a French priest who founded the Sisters
of the Holy Guardian Angel, the Pontiff has paved the way for his
beatification.Pope Francis also approved two decrees of martyrdom, clearing the way for the beatification of:

Father Antonio Arribas Hortigüela, MSC (1908-36) and six
companions, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, killed in Seriñá,
Catalonia (in Spain) during the Spanish Civil War

Josef Mayr-Nusser (1910-45), an Italian layman who was active in
the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. A husband and father of a newborn
son, he was drafted into Hitler’s army and refused to recite the oath to
Hitler, dying en route to the Dachau concentration camp.

Finally, the Pope approved decrees on the heroic virtues of six
servants of God, who may now be honored with the title “venerable”:

Bishop Gallegos

Finally, the Pope approved decrees on the heroic virtues of six
servants of God, who may now be honored with the title “venerable”:

Auxiliary Bishop Alphonse Gallegos of Sacramento (1931-91), who was
born in Albuquerque, ordained a priest of the Order of Augustinian
Recollects in 1958, and ordained a bishop in 1981

Father Rafael Sánchez García (1911-73), a Spanish diocesan priest

Brother Andrés García Acosta (1800-53), a Franciscan who was born in Spain and died in Chile

Father Giuseppe (José) Marchetti (1869-96), an Italian Scalabrinian
missionary priest who ministered in Brazil and co-founded the
Missionaries of Charles Borromeo (the Scalabrinian Sisters) with his
younger sister, Blessed Assunta Marchetti

Father Giacomo Viale (1830-1912), an Italian Franciscan who worked as a parish priest

On Oct. 6, 1991, Gallegos died when he was struck by a carby the side of the road while returning to Sacramento from Gridley, California Because he was known as "the bishop of the barrio"approximately 300 lowriders cars drove in a procession before the bishop’s funeral Mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.The bishop was considered as an unofficial chaplain to lowriders and migrant workers.

I wish I could have seen that! I can't find any pictures of the funeral procession, but it must have looked like this:

I want to make an appeal to all priests. You may have read my article in L’Osservatore Romanoone year ago (12 June 2015) or my interview with the journal Famille Chrétiennein May of this year. On both occasions I said that I believe that it
is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common
orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same
direction—Eastwards or at least towards the apse—to the Lord who comes,
in those parts of the liturgical rites when we are addressing God. This
practice is permitted by current liturgical legislation. It is
perfectly legitimate in the modern rite. Indeed, I think it is a very
important step in ensuring that in our celebrations the Lord is truly at
the centre.

Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship

The Jesuits rebut:

Jesuit Fr. Bruce Morrill, professor of
Catholic studies at Vanderbilt University, said the cardinal’s office
could issue a directive mandating “ad orientem” Masses without changing
the whole missal.A directive, he said, would require approval from the Vatican and
would be released in an official statement from the Congregation for
Divine Worship.

“This is not official; he was speaking to an annual meeting of an erratic conservative group. Those directives don’t happen in speeches and interviews” like those Sarah has given, Morrill said.I entirely agree. “Directives… don’t happen in speeches and interviews.”

(RNS) Disturbed by the language of exclusion that has characterized
much of the 2016 electoral campaign, Sister Simone Campbell and a band
of Catholic nuns will again board her bus to promote a vision of a more
inclusive America.

Today we're gonna party like it's 1968!

The activist nun and 18 other sisters will begin their trip on July
11 in Janesville, Wis., hometown of House Speaker and Republican leader
Paul Ryan, a fellow Catholic whose conservative policies Campbell has
regularly criticized.

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Pope Francis spoke to the diplomatic corps and amongst other things, said, "Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."

MEANWHILE.....

For the first time in 85 years, a Muslim call to prayer has taken place inside Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.Completed in 537, Hagia Sophia served as the basilica of the
Patriarch of Constantinople until the Byzantine Empire’s fall to Ottoman
Turks in 1453. Hagia Sophia was then used as a mosque until 1931 and
reopened in 1935 as a museum under the secularizing Turkish President
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.For the past four years, the Turkish government has permitted calls
for prayer from Hagia Sophia’s minarets. The call to worship from inside
Hagia Sophia on July 1 was broadcast on television the following day,
the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.A Greek government spokesman expressed “intense concern and
discomfort at yet another step that undermines the nature of Hagia
Sophia as a monument of global cultural heritage and that obviously is
not compatible with the principles that should govern a modern, secular
state.”